In 1876 a proposed constitutional amendment was introduced into Congress, which
would have prohibited any government body (federal, state, territorial,
district, or municipal) from allocating funds to the schools or other
institutions of any religious (or anti-religious) sect, denomination, or
organization. (The proposed amendment explicitly protected Bible-reading in
schools.) Presidential nominee Rutherford Hayes and most of his fellow
Republicans endorsed the amendment, but it failed to gain sufficient
Congressional backing. Ultimately, though, the movement was successful in
keeping most public funds away from religious schools.